Prince Harry helps RAF engineer to become first amputee since Douglas Bader to fly a Spitfire solo

An RAF engineer who lost his right leg five years ago has become the first amputee since Sir Douglas Bader to complete a solo flight in a Spitfire.

Alan Robinson, 38, was one of two injured servicemen chosen by Prince Harry's Endeavour Fund to take on a 60-hour training course that culminated in the short solo flight in the £3 million Second World War fighter.

He is believed to be one of only three amputees ever to fly a Spitfire solo, the others being Bader and fellow WWII ace Colin "Hoppy" Hopkinson.

Bader, who lost both legs in a flying accident in 1931, went on to fly in the Battle of Britain and shot down 20 enemy aircraft before he was himself shot down and taken prisoner, ending the war in Colditz. His life story was told in the film Reach for the Sky.

Alan Robinson lost his right leg below the kneeCredit:
Boultbee Flight Academy

Mr Robinson set himself the goal of learning to fly after he lost his right leg above the knee in a motorbike accident in 2011. He obtained a private pilot's licence and when Prince Harry launched the Spitfire Scholarship, a scheme to help injured service personnel with their long-term recovery, he was one of numerous applicants for two places on a course to fly a Spitfire.

Earlier this month he achieved a lifelong ambition to fly the legendary fighter when he completed a 15-minute flight from Goodwood Aerodrome in West Sussex. He was alone in the aircraft, which had no modifications to cater for his injury.

Andy Robinson, on the left in the white shirt, and Nathan Forster, in white on the right, with Prince Harry and members of the Boultbee Flight AcademyCredit:
Boultbee Flight Academy

He said: "It was pretty nerve-racking to be honest. It was one of those things where I knew I was ready but I was still very nervous. It was a really emotional thing.

"It was only a short flight but the last couple of years of highs and lows, success and failure, were all compressed into that flight.

"It is such a special aeroplane and as a pilot, everyone dreams of flying it. I have also had a chance to meet some of the veterans who flew Spitfires during the war, and having flown the aeroplane my admiration and respect for them has grown massively."

Speaking about Bader, he said: "It wasn't something I even thought about until I was doing the solo and I overheard someone talking about it, so no pressure there then!"

Prince Harry, together with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, established the Endeavour Fund in 2012 as part of their Royal Foundation charity. It offers seed funding for sporting and adventure challenges that will give an ambitious goal to wounded service personnel to help rebuild their confidence and speed their physical and mental recovery.

In 2014 Prince Harry launched the Spitfire Scholarship, directly inspired by Bader, and met the two successful candidates, Mr Robinson and Nathan Forster, who was injured in an IED blast in Afghanistan while serving with The Parachute Regiment.

Matt Jones, managing director of Boultbee Flight Academy, said: "I rate Alan as an exceptional pilot. Very few people can be taught something once and pick it up straight away without having to be told again.

The WWII Spitfire in which Mr Robinson took his solo flightCredit:
Boultbee Flight Academy

"Alan completed 30 hours in a Chipmunk trainer, 20 hours in a Harvard and 10 hours in the Spitfire before he went solo, and we didn't modify any of those aircraft to compensate for his prosthetic leg."

The Spitfire flown by Mr Robinson was built in 1944 but never entered active service during the war. All Spitfires were built as single-seat fighters, but the Boultbee aircraft has been adapted to have a second seat behind the pilot, enabling tuition in the aircraft before pilots go solo.

Mr Robinson, a married father-of-two currently based at RAF Waddington, Lincs., where he is a technical adviser on the RAF's sentry fleet, now hopes to learn aerobatics, though he will have to fund that himself.